We are a resale marketplace, so we have an obvious interest here. Read this with that in mind — and then apply the checks to us as well.
Where fraud actually happens
Overwhelmingly on social media and classified listings: a direct message, a screenshot of a ticket, and a request for payment by bank transfer or a peer-to-peer payments app. That is the pattern behind the large majority of reported ticket fraud. It is not a marketplace problem; it is a stranger-with-a-screenshot problem.
The four checks
1. Is there a guarantee, and does it name a remedy?
"Guaranteed authentic" is marketing. A real guarantee states what happens when it fails: refund, replacement, who pays. Ours is on one page and names the remedy in the first paragraph. If you cannot find that page on a site, that is your answer.
2. Is there a phone number that a human answers?
Call it before you buy. Ask something specific. A marketplace that cannot be reached before it has your money will not be reachable after.
3. How are you being asked to pay?
Credit card through a checkout with a padlock, or nothing. Bank transfer, wire, cryptocurrency, gift cards and peer-to-peer payment apps offer no chargeback rights. Anyone steering you to those is telling you exactly what they intend.
4. Is the site claiming to be something it is not?
A resale marketplace that implies it is the venue, the team, or the primary seller is misrepresenting itself, and misrepresentation is a reasonable predictor of other behaviour. A legitimate resale site says clearly and near the top that it is a resale marketplace, is not affiliated with the venue, and that prices may be above or below face value. It should not be in small grey text at the bottom.
Checks that do not work
- A padlock in the address bar. It means the connection is encrypted. Fraudulent sites have padlocks too.
- Reviews on the site itself. Trivially fabricated. Look off-site.
- A professional-looking design. Templates are free.
- Urgency. Countdown timers and "2 people are viewing" counters are frequently theatre. Real scarcity does not need a stopwatch.
If it has already gone wrong
- Contact your card issuer and start a chargeback immediately.
- Report to your national consumer protection body — in the United States that is the FTC.
- Report the account or listing to the platform where you found it.
- Keep every message. Chargebacks succeed on documentation.
Apply this to us
Call (877) 225-8425. Read our guarantee, our policies and our fee breakdown. Note that we state we are a resale marketplace at the top of every page, not the bottom. If any of that does not satisfy you, do not buy from us — that is the correct outcome of a check that works.